I told muchtvs that I'd have this posted by 11pm. Well, I lied. I can't
type that fast. Thanks again for all your comments. I'm truly honoured.
Josh, I'm still waiting for you to proclaim your undying love. Call me hon... I'll let you wear the boots.
All legal disclaimers apply.
Chapter Three
Kirsten's worries were proven correct. The police didn't want to take Ryan's disappearance seriously. She and Sandy couldn't believe that the police were telling her to go home and wait out Ryan's "tantrum".
"I beg your pardon...?"
The iciness in Kirsten's voice revealed that she was every bit her father's daughter.
"Ma'am... I'm just saying he'll probably come back on his own... Maybe he was just waiting for his probation to end before he ran off... Is there anything of value missing?"
Kirsten leaned in and gripped the edge of the officer's desk so hard her knuckles were white. 20 years of marriage and Sandy had never seen his wife like this.
"A missing silver tea set or a stolen Rolex would make you take this seriously? Is that what you're telling me? Stuff that means nothing is worth more to you than my missing kid?"
Sandy reached for Kirsten's hand and brought her back closer to him. He put his arm around her shoulder.
"Ma'am... Ryan Atwood is not your kid. He's a ward of the state. We'll send a copy of the report over to Child Services but..."
Kirsten broke free from Sandy's grasp.
"We've fed him, clothed him and loved him. He damn well is my kid and you better do everything you can to bring Ryan back to us or I'll make sure your ass is tied up in a lawsuit for so long you're going to be lucky if you can end your police career as a security guard for Wal-Mart!"
With that, Kirsten stomped out of the police station. Sandy pulled out his card, wrote his home number on the back and handed it to the beleaguered officer.
"I trust you'll keep us informed. I'd hate for my wife to have to come back here and make sure you're doing your job." Sandy's voice was flat and unfeeling as he fought to keep his emotions in check.
Kirsten was pacing outside. As soon as Sandy reached her she lost her resolve. Sandy pulled her into a hug.
"I want him back Sandy... I need him back... I want our family whole again..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Marissa adjusted her sunglasses, only half listening to Summer. The weather was perfect and the beach wasn't too busy. She lowered her head to peer over her shades to look at the well built lifeguard walking by.
"Coop... Coop?"
Marissa turned to Summer.
"What do I do about this mess with Cohen?"
She waited a minute before answering her best friend.
"Summer, why do you care? It's just Seth Cohen... You'll find somebody else..."
Summer couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Doesn't it bother you someone told Cohen that your boyfriend and I are getting it on? I mean, uh, no offense Coop, Ryan's cute and all, but he's no Seth Cohen..."
Marissa just shrugged.
"Ryan and I aren't together anymore. He had no time for me. He was busy with Theresa or helping the Cohens with whatever project they were working on... I wasn't his first priority..."
Summer sat up in her lounge chair and turned to face Marissa.
"Listen to yourself Coop... Chino's known Theresa forever. Why shouldn't he help her out? You know her baby isn't his... So what if he works with the Cohens. He lives with them. I don't get pissed when Seth does stuff with his parents. Ryan's got this mutant "white knight" gene thing happening. He risked everything to prove to you Oliver was crazy and dangerous. He could have gone back to juvie. He did it for you..."
Marissa didn't say anything, but not for the reasons Summer thought. It was true. Ryan could have ended up back in jail because of the fight with Oliver. She had made a strategic error. Just as she used Ryan to make Luke jealous, she tried to use Oliver to get to Ryan. She miscalculated Oliver's mental state. When it was all over and the fallout settled, Ryan had changed. He only wanted her friendship. She even threw herself at him, offering him her body and Ryan had rejected her...
Well, now she had made sure the Cohens rejected him.
"I've gotta go Sum. I'll call you later..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Seth had been trying to get a hold of Summer all morning. She wasn't answering her phone. He had left half a dozen voice mail messages, each one asking if they could talk. He wasn't expecting her to call back... Not really.
He left the main house, entered the pool house and lay down on the bed. Rosa must have been in to straighten up. A pile of Ryan's laundered clothes were neatly folded on a chair, waiting to be put away. Ryan had been uncomfortable with someone else doing his laundry, so the compromise he made with Rosa was that she would wash his dirty clothes and he would put the clean ones away. A piece of paper sat on top of the pile. From the looks of it, it had gone through the wash. Seth reached for it, gingerly unfolded it and read the note. The writing was faded but he could still make out the words.
Times and addresses.
The times all coincided when Ryan had "errands to run" and Summer had "other plans". The addresses were of comic book stores in the surrounding county. Summer's anniversary present to him. The present that sat half wrapped on his desk because he couldn't bring himself to look at it. The present Ryan had helped Summer find.
Why did Marissa think Ryan and Summer were screwing around?
Why did he believe her?
Nothing made sense. He lay down on the bed again and closed his eyes. He saw the look on Ryan's face when he accused him of banging Summer.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw Ryan backing away after Seth drove his fist into his stomach.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw Ryan take another step back and put his hands up as if to stop Seth before Seth lunged at him.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad run into the pool house.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad pulling Ryan away.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad make a fist.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad's fist connect with Ryan's face.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw Ryan walk out the door.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kirsten and Sandy sat in their family room, listening intently as John Rueben, a private investigator they'd used before, went over the information he had gathered.
"I checked in with a cop buddy of mine and Ryan has now been added to the data bank of missing kids. Police stations within a 500 mile radius have been notified. If he doesn't turn up in the next couple of days his profile will go nationwide..."
Kirsten squeezed Sandy's hand. As angry as she was with him, she knew the guilt he was carrying was eating him alive.
"Is there anything else you can tell us?"
John nodded his head.
"He hasn't made any calls from the cell phone he has. He accessed his bank account but only withdrew $300. That leads me to believe he might still be in the area. We'll be able to trace him when he goes for more money. The bank will call as soon as there's anymore activity. I'll be notified as soon as he uses the cell phone. We can get an idea of his location from that. I'll check out the bus station, but I'm pretty sure he's holed up somewhere close."
The private investigator stood up. Kirsten and Sandy walked him to the door.
"I'll be in contact with you on a daily basis... I'll find him... I'll bring him home..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"There are usually 4 to a room, but with the nice weather we're pretty empty so you'll have the room to yourself for a while. There's a locker... You can put your things in. We'll supply you with a lock. No drugs, no alcohol... Smoking is outside the building only. We do random checks of the lockers and if you're caught with anything you're not supposed to have, then you're out. The maximum stay is 30 days. We serve breakfast at 7am and dinner at 5:30pm..."
Ryan looked around. He was in a shelter run by the Salvation Army. It was old, but it was clean. He'd been in a lot worse. His tour guide was Captain Matthews. He ran the shelter along with the congregants of the Salvation Army Citadel.
"Marty..."
Ryan looked up, momentarily forgetting the name he was now using.
"'m sorry... What was that?"
Captain Matthews looked the young man over. He was quiet and soft spoken. His eyes had a haunted quality to them and judging from his demeanor, he'd been through an emotional wringer.
"I said why don't you grab a shower? I'll show you the washroom and the laundry facilities and then we can see if Cory has something leftover from dinner that we can feed you. I'll meet you in the dining hall in half an hour."
The captain left, not waiting for an answer. He sent up a quick prayer for "Marty" as he walked down the stairs, hoping to sweet talk Cory into opening the kitchen.
Ryan stood in front of the locker, looking at the ID he'd used.
Marty Nevis. Seth was Steve Sebolski. Vegas seemed like a lifetime ago. Ryan Atwood's life had stopped. Marty Nevis' had just begun.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sandy didn't sleep. He was driving the streets of Orange County looking for Ryan. He couldn't allow himself to close his eyes.
His fist connecting with Ryan's face.
His stomach churned as he heard the sound of the impact over and over again. He couldn't get the sound out of his head. The look on Ryan's face was forever burned into his brain.
Sandy tried to justify it, hoping to assuage his guilt. Who was he kidding? There was no justification. Only a moment of blind anger. A moment that may have cost him a kid he loved like a son.
Kirsten surprised him at the police station. Not the way she bullied the officer into doing his job, she was Caleb Nichol's daughter. She could hold her own with the "big boys". No, it was the way she referred to Ryan as "her kid"... Not once, but twice. Maybe that was the difference. Sandy loved Ryan like a son and Kirsten loved Ryan as her son. Somewhere along the line Kirsten had knocked down the last barrier and claimed Ryan as her own.
Sandy realized that on some level, he still saw Ryan as a client, as a guest in their house, a noble cause. For all his talk about giving Ryan a family, safety and a future, he hadn't totally accepted Ryan. Ryan must have felt it as well. That's why he kept a bag packed, always ready to run. Sandy didn't offer him a home or a family or safety or a future. Sandy only gave him a temporary respite from his old life, ready to take it all away. He didn't make a long term commitment with the boy, he dangled a fucking carrot and then snatched it from him.
Sandy pulled over to the side of the road. Tears were not going to fix this. He had to fix this. It was the least he could do.
Josh, I'm still waiting for you to proclaim your undying love. Call me hon... I'll let you wear the boots.
All legal disclaimers apply.
Chapter Three
Kirsten's worries were proven correct. The police didn't want to take Ryan's disappearance seriously. She and Sandy couldn't believe that the police were telling her to go home and wait out Ryan's "tantrum".
"I beg your pardon...?"
The iciness in Kirsten's voice revealed that she was every bit her father's daughter.
"Ma'am... I'm just saying he'll probably come back on his own... Maybe he was just waiting for his probation to end before he ran off... Is there anything of value missing?"
Kirsten leaned in and gripped the edge of the officer's desk so hard her knuckles were white. 20 years of marriage and Sandy had never seen his wife like this.
"A missing silver tea set or a stolen Rolex would make you take this seriously? Is that what you're telling me? Stuff that means nothing is worth more to you than my missing kid?"
Sandy reached for Kirsten's hand and brought her back closer to him. He put his arm around her shoulder.
"Ma'am... Ryan Atwood is not your kid. He's a ward of the state. We'll send a copy of the report over to Child Services but..."
Kirsten broke free from Sandy's grasp.
"We've fed him, clothed him and loved him. He damn well is my kid and you better do everything you can to bring Ryan back to us or I'll make sure your ass is tied up in a lawsuit for so long you're going to be lucky if you can end your police career as a security guard for Wal-Mart!"
With that, Kirsten stomped out of the police station. Sandy pulled out his card, wrote his home number on the back and handed it to the beleaguered officer.
"I trust you'll keep us informed. I'd hate for my wife to have to come back here and make sure you're doing your job." Sandy's voice was flat and unfeeling as he fought to keep his emotions in check.
Kirsten was pacing outside. As soon as Sandy reached her she lost her resolve. Sandy pulled her into a hug.
"I want him back Sandy... I need him back... I want our family whole again..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Marissa adjusted her sunglasses, only half listening to Summer. The weather was perfect and the beach wasn't too busy. She lowered her head to peer over her shades to look at the well built lifeguard walking by.
"Coop... Coop?"
Marissa turned to Summer.
"What do I do about this mess with Cohen?"
She waited a minute before answering her best friend.
"Summer, why do you care? It's just Seth Cohen... You'll find somebody else..."
Summer couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Doesn't it bother you someone told Cohen that your boyfriend and I are getting it on? I mean, uh, no offense Coop, Ryan's cute and all, but he's no Seth Cohen..."
Marissa just shrugged.
"Ryan and I aren't together anymore. He had no time for me. He was busy with Theresa or helping the Cohens with whatever project they were working on... I wasn't his first priority..."
Summer sat up in her lounge chair and turned to face Marissa.
"Listen to yourself Coop... Chino's known Theresa forever. Why shouldn't he help her out? You know her baby isn't his... So what if he works with the Cohens. He lives with them. I don't get pissed when Seth does stuff with his parents. Ryan's got this mutant "white knight" gene thing happening. He risked everything to prove to you Oliver was crazy and dangerous. He could have gone back to juvie. He did it for you..."
Marissa didn't say anything, but not for the reasons Summer thought. It was true. Ryan could have ended up back in jail because of the fight with Oliver. She had made a strategic error. Just as she used Ryan to make Luke jealous, she tried to use Oliver to get to Ryan. She miscalculated Oliver's mental state. When it was all over and the fallout settled, Ryan had changed. He only wanted her friendship. She even threw herself at him, offering him her body and Ryan had rejected her...
Well, now she had made sure the Cohens rejected him.
"I've gotta go Sum. I'll call you later..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Seth had been trying to get a hold of Summer all morning. She wasn't answering her phone. He had left half a dozen voice mail messages, each one asking if they could talk. He wasn't expecting her to call back... Not really.
He left the main house, entered the pool house and lay down on the bed. Rosa must have been in to straighten up. A pile of Ryan's laundered clothes were neatly folded on a chair, waiting to be put away. Ryan had been uncomfortable with someone else doing his laundry, so the compromise he made with Rosa was that she would wash his dirty clothes and he would put the clean ones away. A piece of paper sat on top of the pile. From the looks of it, it had gone through the wash. Seth reached for it, gingerly unfolded it and read the note. The writing was faded but he could still make out the words.
Times and addresses.
The times all coincided when Ryan had "errands to run" and Summer had "other plans". The addresses were of comic book stores in the surrounding county. Summer's anniversary present to him. The present that sat half wrapped on his desk because he couldn't bring himself to look at it. The present Ryan had helped Summer find.
Why did Marissa think Ryan and Summer were screwing around?
Why did he believe her?
Nothing made sense. He lay down on the bed again and closed his eyes. He saw the look on Ryan's face when he accused him of banging Summer.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw Ryan backing away after Seth drove his fist into his stomach.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw Ryan take another step back and put his hands up as if to stop Seth before Seth lunged at him.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad run into the pool house.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad pulling Ryan away.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad make a fist.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw his dad's fist connect with Ryan's face.
"Seth... Why...?"
He saw Ryan walk out the door.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kirsten and Sandy sat in their family room, listening intently as John Rueben, a private investigator they'd used before, went over the information he had gathered.
"I checked in with a cop buddy of mine and Ryan has now been added to the data bank of missing kids. Police stations within a 500 mile radius have been notified. If he doesn't turn up in the next couple of days his profile will go nationwide..."
Kirsten squeezed Sandy's hand. As angry as she was with him, she knew the guilt he was carrying was eating him alive.
"Is there anything else you can tell us?"
John nodded his head.
"He hasn't made any calls from the cell phone he has. He accessed his bank account but only withdrew $300. That leads me to believe he might still be in the area. We'll be able to trace him when he goes for more money. The bank will call as soon as there's anymore activity. I'll be notified as soon as he uses the cell phone. We can get an idea of his location from that. I'll check out the bus station, but I'm pretty sure he's holed up somewhere close."
The private investigator stood up. Kirsten and Sandy walked him to the door.
"I'll be in contact with you on a daily basis... I'll find him... I'll bring him home..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"There are usually 4 to a room, but with the nice weather we're pretty empty so you'll have the room to yourself for a while. There's a locker... You can put your things in. We'll supply you with a lock. No drugs, no alcohol... Smoking is outside the building only. We do random checks of the lockers and if you're caught with anything you're not supposed to have, then you're out. The maximum stay is 30 days. We serve breakfast at 7am and dinner at 5:30pm..."
Ryan looked around. He was in a shelter run by the Salvation Army. It was old, but it was clean. He'd been in a lot worse. His tour guide was Captain Matthews. He ran the shelter along with the congregants of the Salvation Army Citadel.
"Marty..."
Ryan looked up, momentarily forgetting the name he was now using.
"'m sorry... What was that?"
Captain Matthews looked the young man over. He was quiet and soft spoken. His eyes had a haunted quality to them and judging from his demeanor, he'd been through an emotional wringer.
"I said why don't you grab a shower? I'll show you the washroom and the laundry facilities and then we can see if Cory has something leftover from dinner that we can feed you. I'll meet you in the dining hall in half an hour."
The captain left, not waiting for an answer. He sent up a quick prayer for "Marty" as he walked down the stairs, hoping to sweet talk Cory into opening the kitchen.
Ryan stood in front of the locker, looking at the ID he'd used.
Marty Nevis. Seth was Steve Sebolski. Vegas seemed like a lifetime ago. Ryan Atwood's life had stopped. Marty Nevis' had just begun.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sandy didn't sleep. He was driving the streets of Orange County looking for Ryan. He couldn't allow himself to close his eyes.
His fist connecting with Ryan's face.
His stomach churned as he heard the sound of the impact over and over again. He couldn't get the sound out of his head. The look on Ryan's face was forever burned into his brain.
Sandy tried to justify it, hoping to assuage his guilt. Who was he kidding? There was no justification. Only a moment of blind anger. A moment that may have cost him a kid he loved like a son.
Kirsten surprised him at the police station. Not the way she bullied the officer into doing his job, she was Caleb Nichol's daughter. She could hold her own with the "big boys". No, it was the way she referred to Ryan as "her kid"... Not once, but twice. Maybe that was the difference. Sandy loved Ryan like a son and Kirsten loved Ryan as her son. Somewhere along the line Kirsten had knocked down the last barrier and claimed Ryan as her own.
Sandy realized that on some level, he still saw Ryan as a client, as a guest in their house, a noble cause. For all his talk about giving Ryan a family, safety and a future, he hadn't totally accepted Ryan. Ryan must have felt it as well. That's why he kept a bag packed, always ready to run. Sandy didn't offer him a home or a family or safety or a future. Sandy only gave him a temporary respite from his old life, ready to take it all away. He didn't make a long term commitment with the boy, he dangled a fucking carrot and then snatched it from him.
Sandy pulled over to the side of the road. Tears were not going to fix this. He had to fix this. It was the least he could do.